AN ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS APPROACH TO EVALUATION Cruising in Topeka

The use of systems terms and ecological concepts is increasingly common in psychology, and particularly in community psychology Researchers engaged in evaluation studies within community psychology are encouraged to consider four consequences of the eco-logical-systems orientation: (1) reformulation and reconceptualization of the evaluation question; (2) shift of research design in the direction of complexity and flexibility; (3) shift of measurement toward multiple, qualitative, and quantitative measures; and (4) relativis-tic, perspectival interpretation of results. Each of these consequences is illustrated with reference to the evaluation of a mobile counseling project, n recent years, the evolution of psychology has been marked byincreasing acceptance of systems concepts and models. This trend has led psychologists to move away from a view of phenomena as isolated entities and toward a greater appreciation of the relational context of phenomena. As psychology expands its field of application to families, groups, organizations, and even communities, such an ex-panded conceptual framework becomes increasingly applicable; indeed, the psychological literature is replete with calls for a wider use of system